Don't cover it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[greg40green]

A word of warning.
Had to put my Elan outside under a ' breathable waterproof cover ' whilst I did other things in the garage.
4 weeks this Sunday it's been outside and its rained nearly every day with no frost.
Took the cover off this morning to put the Elan back in the garage.
What a f#*#ing mess , every panel has got micro blistering on them with the passenger door / side being the worst affected.
The shell was painted some 15 plus years ago and was in remarkably good condition prior to putting the 'breathable waterproof cover ' over it .
I wish I would have just let the get wet and covered in saw dust.
My advice is don't use a car cover breathable or not.
PS
Sorry Michael.

[LaikaTheDog]

I second this.
when any fibreglass car is outside it must be uncovered or under a totally waterproof membrane, such as damp proof sheeting.
ruined my first elan in a week and a tvr after a month.....

[vincereynard]

This is a timely warning!

I had intended to buy a cover for outside storage. I guess it will have to be a carport!

Thanks.

Vince

[el-saturn]

...........................got one of those BUT fortunately only used it as a dust cover in the garage. just good to go HERE once a day: now i'll never use THIS cover outdoors! + once the tarmac gets dry: I'm out there to get TC warm!! sandy 36/4982 (waiting to go outside!!)

[UAB807F]

Same thing happened to my Europa a couple of years ago when I covered it with a plastic sheet because the corrugated iron roof was leaking in places. Forgot about it and by spring almost every panel had micro blisters present, a real downer.

The good news (if you can call it that) was that it was all between the primer & top coats. Once I started stripping the paint you could see the blister marks on top of the primer so the fibreglass itself was ok.

Brian

ps - I still cover the cars but use the old cotton bedsheets rather than bespoke covers or damp proof membranes.... oh, and I fixed the roof !

[Gray]

To avoid damage from damp, based upon many years of design of building services, including military storage facilities:

Car ports are good, it will be damp at times but will dry out, but obviously leave the car exposed to other things.
Garages should have good ventilation to give adequate air movement - the garage will be cold in cold weather.
Much better is a well sealed garage with dehumidifier. Dehumidifiers are very cheap compared with the cost of a respray. In a dehumidified garage a thin sheet should be OK to keep dust off if/when required. Make sure you open the doors when doing something that requires ventilation. If you keep a Lotus for a long time in a dehumidified garage before spraying hopefully the moisture will have been dissipated from the fiberglass and won't get trapped by the paint.
There are various enclosures for individual vehicles that blow air through which are OK as far as I'm aware, but not as good as a dehumidified garage.

The military found that dehumidification was much more economic to run than higher levels of heating in storage facilities.

Cheers Gray

[Chancer]

I used an internal Carcoon outside for several years, it was a prototype and the upper part was made of tent material rather than the see thru plastic, eventually UV rays had their effect and it ripped from end to end in a storm

The tent material wasnt really waterproof and pools of water would build up on the groundsheet for want of a better word, I would bale these out every few months. what was really interesting was that despite significant water getting in and becoming trapped the air movement stopped any rust on the vehicle, when I stored the car outside in the carcoon at the end of autumn I put a piece of bare metal on the scuttle, it was a rusty old piece of scrap that I cleaned up with the angle grinder leaving some pitting, come the spring the car was in perfect condition and the metal test piece looked the same as when I had ground it off despite water pooling Under the vehicle.

Air movement is everything, car ports are great especially if they have some side protection against driven rain, dust and d?bris.

[alan.barker]

I never ever put a cover on my Lotus or TVRs in the garage Under my house and let them gather dust.
Even in a dry Under the house garage you have changes of temperature and possible small ammount of condensation. When i take the cars for a drive i prefer to wash/rinse off the dust just before the drive.
Alan

[ftsoft]

I've used a cover for years in the garage with no issues whatsoever. BTW my S2 turned 50 last month. Purchased in 1966 in San Bruno, CA., born in Nov. 1965.

[alan.barker]

yes , BUT a small detail you live in the USA with a dry climate
Alan

[ftsoft]

Well Alan, I guess your knowledge of the USA is somewhat limited.

Frank

[elansprint71]

It's not just plastic cars wot suffer. No doubt Gareth will be along with the sorry tale of what happened to the paint on his Dad's previously-immaculate MGB.

[alan.barker]

Well Alan, I guess your knowledge of the USA is somewhat limited.

Frank

hi Frank,
yes of course you are right and i have only visited NY
Alan

[bob_rich]

Hi All

This is avery interesting, if somewhat worrying post ! I have used covers for a few years and not (yet) had any serious issues. (in UK based in Essex)

My seven, ( only fibre class wings and nose cone) was covered with a Club Lotus breathable cover from January 2011 to July 2014. no problems seen on the paint at all including a couple of winters where snow was on it for around 2 weeks total. I did have a wooden frame to stop direct contact with much of the body and also produce and arched shape to prevent puddling. This cover was pretty well done in by the time I finished with it.

The seven was outside while I did up my Elan +2 got that going in September 2014 ( so Seven new back in garage) and that stays outside under a carport but also with a breathable Club Lotus cover on it . As of now all seem OK with the paint work but the cover is not put on (very) wet and both the Seven and the +2 never stood ( or stand) for more than a couple of weeks without being taken out for a blat. In winter this may stretch to perhaps a month under cover between blats

Also have an Elise , frequently used by the kids, and this his under a plastic cover (Waterproof Car Cover and Vents type MP9331) my son brought me for a present and has been for quite a few months now but again to problems seen so far.

I was always more concerned about the effect of sunlight ( yes we do get some in Essex!) bleaching the paint and the build up of dust and crud and in the case of the Elise and Seven water leaking/ blowing in though the soft top.

I stress that this is my experience and not a statement that car covers are ideal things. I would be very interesting to try and understand why covers , that are used as far as I can tell by many folks with glass fibre cars, can give in some circumstances such severe problems. With the exception of the Elise, with its original paint job the Elan and Seven being 40 plus years old have seen several body reworks including resprays. perhaps the issue may lie with body rework over many years.

Other peoples experiences would be most interesting to hear.

regards

Bob

[greg40green]

Hello Bob and all others answering this post.
I'm the person who posted the original concern.
I bought the car cover from Halfords 2 years ago for ?140.00 , bought after the same cover was recommended by someone else who had used this type of cover for some for inside and outside use without any problems.
I originally had my S1 Elise outside under the same cover for about 6-8 weeks without any issues whatsoever , not as much rain over this period as was when I put the Elan under the cover .
The Elan is outside under the cover over a period ( less than 4 weeks ) of the wettest weather we have had for some years plus it was very mild the cover was in direct contact with the body shell.
I have used this cover to cover the Elan and my Elise before for several weeks at a time without a problem it rained over short periods whilst the cars were covered with not a blemish being found when uncovered.
I have come to the conclusion that I was unlucky as I think the combination of very wet weather and mild conditions possibly caused humidity under the car cover resulting in the expanse of micro blistering.
I have heard of others suffering similar problems but this usually involves a period of both wet and frosty conditions.
As I said in the original statement the Elan shell had been painted for at least 15 years and had been stored both inside and outside with no effects to the paint work from the weather.
I'm unsure if my insurance would cover the cost of the damage , anyone had any experience of making such a insurance claim?